Day 17: Happiness is:

Getting up after a late night and going out with your camera and friends again.

Sarah, Tracy and Toni

On a clear day you can see Byron

This is known as the Rusty Old Cadillac West of Rochelle. A tourist stop on the Lincoln Highway Trail. Also along the path to the Nachusa Grasslands Autumn on the Prairie Celebration our planned destination.

Nachusa Grasslands Vista

Nachusa Grasslands Website

We discovered this little restaurant in downtown Franklin Grove. Tasty food, inexpensive and just off the beaten path.

Inside the Lincoln Way Cafe

Happiness is discovering new places, being outside on a beautiful day, and taking notice of the beauty and interesting things that surround you.

Day 16: Happiness is:

Knowing that you can post your post a day late and it's not the end of the world.

Happiness is Friday Night with the DeKalb Photo Walk Group painting with light.

Group Photo

In this image, Toni, Sarah, Kirk, Tracy, Candi, Cathi, and Rodney. We all took light sticks and danced and ran around to create this menagerie of color.

Steel Wool

 It's amazing what you get when you play with steel wool a d-volt battery and a whisk.

Tracy's Light

I just love this one of Tracy. Candi painted her with light and the clouds were turned orange by the city lights creating a bit of an Edvard Munch feel.

Happiness is new friends, cameras, light, a home in the country surrounded by darkness, a cooler of  beer, and lots of laughter.

Day 15: Happiness is:

Giving a birthday party to a friend.

We wanted 60 balloons. When we got to work we discovered that there were only five left. Linda found 5 more and I ran to Walgreen's. The balloons in the toy section are really small and not meant for helium. Oh, well, it made for a much funnier moment.

 Toni was trying to show me what here grandchildren had done with balloons the other day.

Happiness is knowing that a little birthday party always creates happiness.

And a video creates a memory that will last forever.
Toni's Birthday Video

Day 14: Happiness is:

 A Mixed Bag.

 Being a part of providing free legal resources to the residents of DeKalb County.

 Seeing the setup to film an episode of Playboy Club at the DeKalb County Courthouse.

Coming home and seeing your beautiful garden. This is the first year in ten years of living in our house that my front garden has been so full and bright. Butterflies and hummingbirds visit. This evening as I was trimming the dead flowers on the butterfly bush, a hummingbird flew in for a little nectar. It was just two feet away from me drinking from the flowers. Then it looked up, saw me and buzzed by on the way to a new food source.

  A few of these red flowers are in a vase in my house. Gardens are great at sharing.

 52 degrees outside.

 95 degrees in the pool.

Happiness is anywhere you want to find it. It is whatever you want it to be. Whatever you make it.

Day 13: Happiness is:

Making it through a really long day and getting things done.

We had good discussions at the board meeting. Documents were prepared for a meeting on Thursday. A good day at work.

Below is the image that I will enter in the Swedish Covenant Hospital's "Testimony to Being" Art Show. 

Happiness is getting things done. Getting them done on time. And, most importantly, being happy with the results.

Day 12: Happiness is:

realizing that some days it's more about the happiness of those around you.

Lady is just always happy and has a smile for you.

 Lily loves getting to lick out the yogurt container.

 Bear discovered the jungle behind our house.

 Mitsy came to let me know she was having a good walk and was glad that I was walking too.

Even on a day when happy moments don't seem to be coming your way, noticing others happiness can quickly change your attitude. Take a moment and look for someone else's smile. It may be just the thing you need to change your day.

Day 11: Happiness is:

As I write my blog about finding happiness in each day, I am reminded of a horrible event that took place ten years ago. We are never supposed to forget about the loss of thousands of lives on one day. We are supposed to remember the fear, the tears, the devastating images that were played over and over again on television. It is called 911. A horrible time that brought people together.

Our society has a preference toward remembering the terrible moments. Yes, I remember that I had gone to work early, before anything had gone wrong. I was waiting for a person to come and install our T-1 line. A great library improvement. When Don walked in , he asked me if I had heard about the plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers in New York. I looked at him as if he was making a very strange and morbid joke. What he said did not make any sense. We turned on the radio and heard the horrible news. We heard continued reports of all that was happening. I kept the library open. I felt that we needed to be available to the community.

This is the reason that I have committed to noticing and posting moments of happiness for 30 days. Life is short and unexpected. It is easy to remember the extreme terrible moments in our lives and the little cheerful moments are often quickly forgotten.

Happiness is living in the moment and taking notice of those wonderful times.

Today the Chicago Bears played a great game. They gave me hope for the upcoming season.

I went to Sandwich Fair to pick up my photographs and my award check with Tracy.

My happy surprise was that I won three red ribbons to go with my blue ribbon. The line to pick up checks for people with last names beginning with N-Z was very short. Not that it mattered. Tracy's last name begins with a "C." You could get mad that you had to wait, or you could laugh and visit with the people around you. We visited.

My great winnings paid for my entry fees. But that's not what it was all about. It was about the ribbons. About taking a chance and trying. About spending time with friends and being hopeful as we looked at each section of photographs.